Happy Birthday D!
by MessintheMirror
Summary: When Derek's first birthday back in Beacon Hills comes around, Maxi brings it upon herself to make sure it's one he'll never forget. One-shot that's part of the "Anchor of the Soul" universe.


_**Just a fun little one-shot to celebrate the birth of Derek Hale  
Enjoy! **_

Maxi wakes up, jumping out of bed. It's Christmas, but that isn't what she is excited about. Christmas means Derek's birthday. The first one since he came back to town. She had sent a birthday card every year that he had been gone, but now he was actually here.

She knew that it was a hard day for him, remembering all that he had lost, but she wanted to do something for him to try and ease the pain. Her family had plans later that day, but her morning was free. She had baked a cake yesterday, and planned to take him breakfast this morning.

She pulled her robe on and made her way downstairs. The house was still quiet, so she set about making a breakfast for a king, or alpha in this case, and his beta since Isaac would be there.

Bacon, eggs, pancakes, sausage links, biscuits with cream gravy, and hash browns. She brewed some coffee, filling two thermoses, and then packaged it all up in a couple of different containers. She then went upstairs, pulling on a pair of thermal socks, a pair of jeans, a long sleeve top, and her snow boots. She then pulled on a hoodie and started to search for her warmest pair of gloves. Once she was bundled up and ready to go, she wrote a quick reminder to her dad of where she was going. She grabbed the insulated bag with all the food inside, then the cake, and made her way to her car.

Before she was on the road, she sent a text to Isaac, reminding him that he would need to let her in. He quickly replied, saying he was waiting downstairs for her. She made the 10 minute drive to the part of town where Derek's loft was located and pulled into the parking lot. She saw Isaac make his way towards her car, and she waved.

She got out, opening the back door to pull out the bag of food. Isaac quickly took it from her, offering her a smile as she started to fuss.

"I got it, really. Not a problem. It smells delicious."

She smiled, leaning back into the car. Isaac watched, admiring her body, quick to look away before getting caught though. When she pulled out a cake, he smiled. "You're too sweet, you know that?"

She turned to him, "Why do you say that?"

"Here it is Christmas Day, and you're more worried about Derek than anything else. It's nice of you."

"He's my family, and I know what this day means to him. I don't want him to wallow or mope. I'm going to make sure he has a good day."

They made for the loft, idly talking as they walked the stairs.

"Are you still going to come over for dinner tonight," Maxi asked him.

"Are you sure it's okay? I don't want to impose."

"You are not imposing. My dad is excited for another person to be there, we got you gifts and everything."

Isaac smiled, "It would be really nice to be around a happy family for the holidays."

"Good, it's settled then. It's going to be a blast," she said, a huge smile on her face as they reached the loft door.

"He was still asleep when I came down. Sounds like he might still be, you might actually get to surprise him."

Maxi smiled, excited at the idea of possibly surprising the man behind the door. She couldn't remember a time when she had been able to get the drop on him, and the idea of pouncing on him kind of excited her.

Isaac pulled the loft door open, walking into a still quiet room. Maxi followed, quickly looking to the bed. Derek was sprawled out, appearing to be dead to the world.

"What do you want me to do with this?"

"Let's take it all to the kitchen, and I'll get it warming back up before I wake him."

She followed Isaac into the small kitchen, turning the oven on low. She then placed the containers inside, and then started to pull out plates, glasses, and silverware.

"I'm going to go take a shower. You good?"

Maxi looked over her shoulder at him, "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm going to get this all set up, then wake him. You should have about 15 minutes."

Isaac shook his head and made his way out of the small room. Maxi watched as he left, then turned back to the small island. She set the table, three places, and then started pulling the hot food out of the oven. She then pulled out the birthday streamer she had bought, and hung it from the cabinets. Once all the food was out, the coffee poured into three mugs and prepared to the specific persons taste, she made her way back out into the open space.

She walked towards Derek, watching as his chest rose and fell. She may not have that little girl crush on him anymore, but she could still admire his body. Once she reached the bed, she stood beside it, still watching. He was so peaceful looking when he slept. That crease between his eyebrows was smoothed out, and he looked like he didn't have a care in the world.

She slowly sat on the bed, trying to decide how to wake the sleeping wolf. When they'd been younger, his family had always woke him up with loud voices, noise makers, and poppers. She didn't think that would be appreciated, so she decided to go the quieter route.

She placed her hand on his arm, gently shaking him, "Derek, wake up."

She waited a moment, but got nothing. "Derek, come on, wake up. It's time to get out of bed."

He started to stir, slowly opening his eyes. The months of quiet had done wonders for his nerves, and the fact that he was almost sleeping through this wake up warmed her heart. Before, he would have woke when Isaac opened the loft door to come down, a thousand questions ready to be asked.

"Maxi?"

She smiled, moving her hand from his shoulder to grab his wrist, giving it a small squeeze, "Morning sleepyhead. I brought you something, but I need you to get out of bed for it."

He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "You brought me something, why?"

She stood up, walking away from the bed, "Get up, put on some clothes, and come to the kitchen."

She entered the kitchen, taking a seat while she waited for the boys. She was taking a sip of her coffee when Isaac walked in, still pulling his shirt on over his head. She blushed, trying not to admire his physique. She may be in a relationship, but Isaac was gorgeous, and he knew it now. She saw a small smirk on his face, knowing he had done that on purpose. She rolled her eyes, then gestured to his spot.

"I made you coffee, 2 sugar and 1 cream."

He sat down, taking a small sip. "Thanks."

They sat, waiting for Derek. Finally, he entered the room, stopping in his tracks when he did.

"What is all this?"

"Happy Birthday," they both said.

He looked from Isaac to Maxi, and back again.

"You did this, the two of you?"

Isaac looked to Maxi, then back, "She did. I just let her in."

Maxi smiled, "I wanted to do something, just for you, before all the Christmas stuff started. Just birthday stuff, without the wash over of everything else. Like they used to do."

Derek looked away, "You really didn't have to do this."

Maxi got up, walking over to Derek, "I know I didn't have too, I wanted too. I wanted to actually do something now that I'm not sending some random card to some random location that you might or might not get. Now that you're home."

She wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. As usual, it took him a moment to reciprocate, but the amount of time it took was getting shorter and shorter each time.

She pulled back, not wanting to make him uncomfortable, especially with Isaac here. "So, I made everything I could think of. Eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, pancakes. If you want it, it's probably here."

Isaac spoke up, "What about waffles?"

She threw him a glare, "There's pancakes smartass."

He laughed, "Just kidding."

Derek and Maxi took their seats, and Derek eyed the table. "This is a lot of food. Anyone else joining us?"

She shook her head, "No, I wasn't sure how much you two would eat, and figured the rest could be left here. You never have food in the place."

He gave her a look, then just started to make his plate. After Isaac and Derek had piled their plates high, Maxi took a little bit of everything and they started to eat.

"This is so good," Isaac said around the food in his mouth.

They made small talk, school, sports, and the local happenings. Once they were done, Isaac took the plates and put them in the sink.

"OK, next," Maxi said, standing up. She placed the cake on the table, pulling the cover off. It was a chocolate cake, with homemade chocolate fudge frosting, and in blue icing it said "_Happy Birthday D". _She then grabbed her candles and started to place them in the cake.

"Maxi, we just ate a huge breakfast. You expect me to eat cake now too?"

"Yes, at least a small piece. I made your favorite."

Once the candles were in place, she moved the cake closer to Derek. "Make a wish."

Derek glared at her, crossing his arms. "Maxi, seriously. This is childish."

"Derek, come on! Please, just for once, relax. Make a damn wish and blow out the candles!"

He looked like he was going to argue some more, then thought different. He leaned forward, paused for a moment, and then blew the candles out. Maxi clapped, a big smile on her face. She took the cake, pulling out the candles and licking the chocolate off them before throwing them away.

Once the candles were out, she cut three small pieces, and handed the boys their piece. "So, what did you wish for?"

Derek shook his head, taking a small bite.

"I would think you of all people would say that he can't tell you, it won't come true," Isaac said.

She rolled her eyes, "If he doesn't tell me, I can't _make it_ come true. I know wishes aren't real. It's the people around you that make wishes come true, not magic."

She turned back to Derek, "So, wish. What was it?"

"Maxi, I didn't make a wish."

"But you blew out the candles!"

Isaac laughed, but stopped when he saw the serious looks on the other two's faces.

"Yes, to get you to drop it."

"Derek, I am just trying to make today a good day, could you help with that, please? Quit being stubborn!"

"I don't want to celebrate, I don't want a nice day. Why can't you understand that?"

It was like Isaac knew that things were about to get personal. He stood up, and quietly made his way out of the room, neither Maxi nor Derek giving him a second glance.

"I do understand. I understand perfectly, but I also know that just because the ones we love are gone, we can't just stop life. Your family would have hated that you were living the way you were. Pushing everyone away, constantly brooding and unhappy. That's not how they raised you, that's not what they would have wanted for you. You know that!"

"You don't know what they would have wanted! They're gone," he all but roared at her. "Just leave it alone."

Derek started to walk away, but Maxi wasn't having it. She quickly ran around him, throwing herself in his path. She spread her arms across the doorway, hoping to keep him from leaving the room.

"Derek, please? I'm just trying to do something nice, something just for you. You've had such a hard year, and I just want this one, this one to end on a good note. Please, just let me do this. Let's eat cake, and open presents, birthday presents, and laugh. Just for a little while. I won't force you to come to dinner tonight, I won't bother you afterwards if you want to be alone. But please, just do this one thing."

Derek stood there, staring down at the small girl. He could see how important this was to her, but he wasn't sure he could give her this one. He was always giving into her, always letting her help, but he didn't think he really wanted to be helped today. To be reminded what today was.

"Please D? For me?"

He shook his head, watching as her face lit up. He turned around and made his way back to the table.

"Isaac, you can come back in now," she said, nearly dancing back to her spot across from Derek.

Isaac tentatively made his way back into the room, taking his spot beside Derek. "Everything okay now?"

Derek shot him a glare, but Maxi smiled. "Everything is great. Now, let's eat our cake and then we can give Derek his gifts."

Derek looked up, "You meant that part? Maxi."

Maxi smiled, not able to wipe it off her face, "Derek, gifts are part of a birthday. The group wanted to be here too, but I figured it was best that we keep this one small, work up to bigger parties. But they did all chip in to get you something."

Derek shook his head, looking back down to his cake and finally taking a bite. "This is really good, it taste just like…"

A sad look passed Maxi's face, but she quickly turned the frown upside down, "Of course, she would always let me help when she made it. It's been a while, but I think I got it."

Isaac devoured his, asking for seconds. Maxi served him a bigger piece this time, and finished hers. While the boys finished their cake, she washed the dishes from that morning and put everything away. Once everybody was done, she ushered the boys into the living room, sending Isaac to get the package from the group.

She and Derek sat on the couch, a peaceful silence washing over them. That was one of her favorite things about the loft, if you were quiet, it was quiet. There was no outside noise, no house sounds, just peace. She let out a sigh, settling back into the couch.

She angled her body towards Derek, watching his movements. He was sat at the far end of the couch, arms cross, back straight. He almost looked uncomfortable, but Maxi could see the very small curve to his lips.

"It's okay to be happy."

He turned his face towards her that crease between his eyebrows appearing. "I've been told that, but it doesn't feel okay. It doesn't feel okay that I'm the only member of my family remaining."

She scooted closer to him, turning her entire body towards him, and placed her hand on top of his. "I can't tell you what to do, or how to grieve for them. Everybody does it different. But your family was such a happy family, so full of life and laughter. It hurts to see you so far away from that. I know you've been through a lot, not only losing them but other things too. You can't live in the past, you have to live in the now."

"You know you're the only one that I let talk to me about these things, don't you?"

"I do, and I feel extremely important because of it. I like the side of you that I get to see, I think you should show more people that side."

Before Derek could reply, Isaac came down the stairs with a large present in his hands.

"Did you wrap that?"

Isaac laughed, "No, Maxi did yesterday after we picked it up."

The present was wrapped in shiny black paper, with a silver bow on it.

"This is from Scott, Stiles, Isaac, Boyd, and Erica. They picked it out themselves. I had no part in this whatsoever."

Derek turned the present over in his hands, almost like he was hoping to guess what it was without opening it. "I can't remember the last time that I got a present, and actually had no clue what it was."

At that, Isaac got a small smile on his face. "We kept all our planning to the school and Maxi's house. We didn't want you to know until you opened it." You could tell he was pretty proud of the fact that they had kept it from him.

"Open it already," Maxi said, getting impatient. When Derek continued to eye the present, Maxi reached over, quickly placing a rip in the paper. "There, it's started, now finish it!"

Derek let out a small laugh, "You always were impatient when it came to presents."

And at the same time, they both said, "especially everyone else's."

They both laughed, "I hated not knowing what they were getting! I couldn't help it."

"No one could tell you what they had gotten everyone else because you couldn't keep a secret."

"I'm much better at keeping secrets now though," she said.

Isaac sat, watching as the two interacted. If he didn't know any better, he would think there was something going on. But he did, he did know better. He knew that Derek looked at Maxi like a sister, and Derek was Maxi's other big brother. You could see it in the way they looked at each other. Derek looked at Maxi the same way Renny did, with complete adoration and love. Maxi, she was always trying to get Derek to open up, always trying to make him happy. She watched him when they were in a room, almost like she was waiting for a sign that something was wrong, just so she could make it better.

Finally, Derek finished ripping the paper off the gift, balling it up and tossing it into Maxi's face. She laughed, blocking it before it hit her, and then threw it to Isaac. He caught it and threw it into the trash bin. He watched as Derek pulled the lid off the box, and opened it up. Inside was a brand new leather jacket. His had been ruined in a fight a while ago, and he hadn't bothered to replace it yet.

Derek pulled it out, holding it up and turning it over and around. "Thanks Isaac."

He went to place it back in the box, when Maxi elbowed him. He turned to look at her, seeing she was giving him a bit of an angry look. "What?"

She nodded her head towards Isaac, "Isaac, did you tell Derek that it was your idea to get the jacket?"

Derek turned towards Isaac, who had turned red and was stumbling for an answer. "Um, no I hadn't. It really isn't a big deal."

"Derek, why don't you try it on?"

Derek gave her a look, "Seriously?"

"Of course! Make sure it fits."

Derek huffed, standing up with the jacket. He pulled it on, moving his arms around to break in the leather a bit.

"Well?"

Derek turned to Isaac, "It fits. I like it, thanks."

Maxi let out a breath, standing up in front of Derek. She moved close, fixing his collar and forcing him to do a turn.

"It looks great, you did a good job Isaac," she said, patting him on the shoulder.

She gave Derek another look, then sat back down. Derek hung the coat up on the back of a chair, and sat back down.

"So is that it," he asked, hope in his voice.

"No, there is one more gift," Maxi said, getting up and walking to where her jacket and purse were thrown on the floor. She kneeled down, searching through her purse.

"Got it," she yelled, jumping up and jogging over to the boys. "Isaac, would you mind giving us a couple of minutes?"

Immediately, without a word, Isaac was up and out of the room.

"You couldn't have said anything else?"

"I said thanks! What more should I have said?"

"That you appreciate it or something? He put a lot of thought into what to get you. Every one put it on him since he lives here!"

"Alright, sorry, I'll say something when he comes back. Why did he have to leave?"

"Because I didn't think you would want him in here when I gave you my gift. Or maybe I didn't want him in here, I don't know. It's not like he can't hear everything, I just wanted this to be between us."

She took her seat beside him again, handing him a square package, this time in a bright silver wrapping with a green bow.

"I remembered green was your favorite color."

"Still is," he said, unwrapping the gift. Once the paper was off, he handed it to Maxi, who just crumpled it up and set it beside her. She brought her hands to rest in her lap, anxious over how he would react to the gift.

He slowly pulled the lid off, then removed the paper that was hiding the gift. Inside was a picture frame. In the picture frame was a picture from almost 7 years ago. It was a picture taken during one family dinner night, everyone smiling and happy.

"Where did you get this?"

"My mom took as many pictures as yours did. I spent the last few weeks, going through all our pictures, trying to find the perfect one."

Derek sat there, the frame in his hands, just staring at it.

"Its times like this, that I wish pictures really were alive, like in the Potter movies," Maxi said softly. She scooted closer, looking down at the picture with him.

In it, the five adults were towards the middle, trying to take a nice picture. The kids were in various states around them. Maxi was on Derek's back, trying to ruffle his hair up as he tried to maneuver her off of him. Cora was seated on the ground, looking extremely bored. Renny was beside Laura, watching her. And Laura was smiling for the camera. She was the only "child" looking right at it.

She smiled, "It was the best one we had, the one that really showed how those nights could be. Others were missing someone here or there, but this one, mom had just gotten her new camera and couldn't wait to try out the timer action."

Derek laughed, "She was so excited about it, and it was all she talked about through dinner until your dad told her to hush."

"And then she looked at him with that glare of hers, and he told her to continue."

They both laughed, then turned quiet. "I miss them every day."

She took his hand, "Me too D. Every day. It never stops hurting, but you learn to live with that pain."

They stayed that way for a few more minutes, before Maxi jumped up. "Well, that was your birthday celebration. The first of many to come! I'm thinking the breakfast part needs to be a tradition, that way I know that at least once a year you get a good meal in you."

Derek laughed, standing up and walking towards his bed. He took the photo, placing it on the nightstand beside the bed.

"Perfect spot," Maxi said from where she stood. "Isaac, you can come out now."

Isaac came down the stairs, now wearing his coat, scarf, a beanie, and gloves.

"Where are you going," Derek asked.

Isaac looked to Maxi, then the door. Suddenly, it was flung open, and in walked Scott, Stiles, Boyd, Erica, Allison, and Lydia.

Maxi walked across the loft quickly, throwing herself into Stiles' arms. They hadn't seen each other in a few days, and she had missed him. He hugged her tight, spinning her around. When he set her down, she quickly took his hand and turned to Derek.

"Maxi, what is this?"

"Well, we decided that you needed to have a little fun today. So, we are all going to go down to that big open field right outside of town. We're going to build snow forts, have a snowball fight, and just have a good time for a few hours. You are not allowed to back out, you are one of the captains."

"And the other captain is?"

She turned looking to the door. At that moment, Renny walked in. "Renny!"

He smiled, making his way into the loft. "Ready to go down Derek?"

"If I remember correctly, you were always on the losing team Ren."

Renny laughed, "I was also going up against a wolf so, wasn't exactly fair."

Maxi walked over to her stuff, pulling on her gloves and coat. She had just put her beanie on her head when Stiles walked up to her. He began to zip her coat, watching as she wrapped her scarf around her neck and stuffed it into the jacket that he then finished zipping.

"Think this is a good idea still?"

She put her hands on either side of his face, "Of course it is. It was one of our favorite things to do in the winter. If the teams get split up evenly enough," she then spoke a little louder, "and the wolves keep their strength in check," she laughed, "we should have a great time with limited injuries. And still be home and ready in time for dinner with our dad's tonight. Ok?"

She used her hands to make him shake his head yes, then placed a kiss on his lips. She then turned from him and made her way towards the group, "Okay, let's pick teams. Derek, Ren, we'll flip a coin to see who goes first."

The coin was flipped and Derek called heads in the air. It was heads, so he got to go.

The teams ended up Derek with Maxi, Boyd, Isaac, and Lydia. Renny had Scott, Stiles, Erica, and Allison. Once the teams were divided up, they all made their way to the vehicles and followed Maxi to the location.

Three hours later, the gang was cold, tired, and worn out.

"Who wants to go back to the loft, eat some cake and drink some hot chocolate? We've still got a couple of hours before dinners start," Maxi suggested.

Most of the gang jumped at the plan, except for Allison and Erica, who both had early things to go too. They left, and the rest went back to the loft. For the next two hours, everyone just lounged around the loft, talking about the epic snow ball fight they'd just had.

Around 5:00 most of the group had left. Maxi, Stiles, Renny, and Isaac were about to leave to head to Maxi's for dinner, when Derek stood up as well. He grabbed Maxi by the elbow, pulling her into the kitchen.

"Thanks for today," Derek said, pulling Maxi to him. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. Without hesitation, Maxi reciprocated. She held onto him until he let go, letting him take the lead since he started it. After a couple of moments, he stepped back. "Does the invitation for dinner still stand?"

"Of course it does! You are always welcome, you know that," she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him behind her. "Guess who's coming for dinner!"

They all made their way out and went to dinner. The dinner group, consisting of Mr. Taylor, Mr. Stilinski, Derek, Renny, Maxi, Stiles, Isaac, and Gabi, had a great time. Good food, good conversation, but most importantly, great company.

The next year for his birthday, Maxi would give Derek another picture, from the previous Christmas. This one, to remind him that even if he had lost his family, he had gained another one.

Once again, she was on his back but this time, they were both looking at the camera, and they were both smiling.


End file.
